Over the past 2 weeks we have been talking a lot about packaging and album design. Zach has written two pieces on the way his indie punk band has created a home-made limited edition feel to their latest release. (Part 1 and Part 2).

Today I wanted to showcase 2 hip-hop groups that are doing some really innovative ways of presenting their albums. First I wanted to discuss some reasons why this is a smart move in today’s music economy.

Music is losing its value to the group that has the largest amount of disposable income – the 12-24 market. This age group is more than just tech savvy, they are the group that is developing the technology to find music on demand and have the best way to share music with a group of peers – school!

The artists that are making money in this demogrpahic are the ones that can bring more value than these fans can find for free on the net. Even if this is not your target market, this makes sense. Everyone is moving online to find information and when you boil down to it, music is nothing more than information when it is online. You search for it, you find it and you use it (listen to it). In order to make a fan, or a prospective fan, take the next step is to offer more value than they can get in a Google, Grooveshark or iTunes search.

The Uzi USB

This one made headlines at the end of 2009 when the West Coast super group Get Busy Committee released their debut album, “Uzi Does It” on USB Thumb Drives in the shape of an uzi – yes that kind of uzi. They printed a 1st run of 1,200 and they were gone within the month. Here is a quick video that showcases the way they packaged their music:

The Get Busy Committee wasn’t even a group a few months ago and now are on the lips of many hip-hop blogs, record label lists and marketing sites as a group to recon with in 2010. Fans have taken to the USB stick by throwing up photos, sharing on Twitter and making super fans of this group.

Check out the GBC store for more ideas on both “for sale” and “free” items that will no doubt fuel the new music economy.

The Stimulus Package

Philly MC Freeway has teamed up with producer Jake One for a new Rhymesayers release dubbed, The Stimulus Package due on February 16th, 2010. Going right into theme, the design, created by Brent Rollins, showcases some much needed funds to pump into fans speakers, iPods and stereos.

According to the Rhymesayers blog the artwork:

includes four Freeway bills, four Jake One bills, with lyrics and liner notes on the back, a wallet to stuff them into, and a free download card to grab the instrumentals.

This is some really cool value for fans of the former Rocafella / State Property MC and veteran G-Unit producer. This goes way beyond your traditional CD packaging and is something to show off to your friends and keep in a nice safe place (so you don’t get jacked for your Freeway dollars).

To make this even more interesting and tied to the theme, on the direct to fan, in-house Rhymesayers store, 5th Element, all pre-orders are eligible for:

• Entry into a drawing for 1 of 5 $100 CASH prizes!
• A Fifth Element Stimulus Check signed by Freeway & Jake One, your check will be good for 15% off a future purchase online.
• Both The Beat Made Me Do It mixtape & Freelapse mixtape.
• Instant digital download of the leaked track You Know What I Mean 320 kbps. In the download you will get the explicit, edited and instrumental version of the song.

You get all that for only $12.99 CD and $14.99 for the LP.

I get really excited when artists, and even labels are able to go outside the norm and do something special for the fans. Fans make the music business go round.

Let’s keep this conversation on album design going. What do you think of these 2 releases? How can you take a concept and run outside the box with it and deliver more value than a Google search can for your band?

-Greg Rollett